After 22 years of silence, Stow executive to bike in MS fundraiser

This year, more than 2,700 people will be riding in Bike MS Pedal to the Point, a 150-mile bike ride today and Sunday from Brunswick High School to Sandusky and back.

Many of these people are riding for family or friends that suffer from multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that affects nerves in the brain, spinal cord and central nervous system.

Other people are riding for themselves.

Jamie Krejsa is the executive vice president of EnivroScience, a bio-research firm in Stow, where he has worked for 24 years. For the last 22 years, he had kept a secret from his coworkers and friends -- he has been living with MS.

Krejsa was diagnosed with MS when he was just 22, after experiencing several attacks throughout high school of optic neuritis, which causes partial or complete loss of vision.

Only Krejsa's immediate family has known about his disease, including his wife Jennifer and his three children: Jackson, 14; Jessica, 5; and Julia, 3. The attacks leave Krejsa numb from his shoulders down, making walking a very

difficult task.

"I'm stubborn, and I would always fight back and try to get myself back to where I was before the attack," said Krejsa.

Now, under the aid of a MS medication, the attacks are less frequent and less severe.

"I've really taken pride in exercise and eating right as well as a healthy attitude to fight MS . . . My attitude has been 'I control my MS,'" said Krejsa. "I wake up with it every morning. It doesn't go away, even though you wish it would."

Krejsa was inspired to come out about his disease by Brooke Harrison. EnviroScience uses a portion of their profits to do positive things for the world through their Corporate Responsibility Group. The group has sponsored Harrison in the MS fundraiser for several years.

This will be Harrison's sixth ride in the event.

"It's really important to me to not just be riding with people with MS but riding for people that have MS," said Harrison. "I really feel like my effort is going toward a good cause and is making a difference."

This year, 14 people will be riding on the ES Against MS Pedal to the Point team, 11 of whom are employees.

One of the additional members of the team is Tina Spelman, from Kent. She was diagnosed with MS in March of 2010. Krejsa met Spelman at a 5K race he and his son were running in that benefited the Oak Clinic for Multiple Sclerosis. An organizer of the event introduced the two, knowing that they were both running the race with MS. Since then, Krejsa has served as a mentor to Spelman, helping her work through the struggles with the disease.

She was diagnosed in March 2010, after six months of tests. She was a very active person, and continues to run in many of the races that she did before.

"It was kind of devastating to hear, since there are so many unknowns with the disease," said Spelman. "I think it's the coolest thing ever to ride with someone else with MS and show people that we can still do the things we enjoy."

This is Spelman's second year riding in Pedal to the Point. She had intending on riding the year before, but a relapse in her disease that put her in the hospital stopped her.

Spelman encouraged Krejsa to join her on the run this year. He had never considered doing a race like Pedal to the Point before -- in fact, he didn't even own a bike until May.

"What amazes me about Jamie is that he now is disclosing that he was diagnosed with MS after such a long time and that this is his first ride with Pedal to the Point," said Guyla Wehman, public relations specialist with the Ohio Buckeye Chapter of the National MS Society. "I give him all the credit in the world. He wants to now let other people know that he can be successful and be able to ride in the bike ride."

Another employee at EnviroScience, Cortney Marquette, also lives with MS. While she isn't riding in Pedal to the Point, she does various MS walks, and greatly supports the ES Against MS team.

This will be the 27th year of Bike MS Pedal to the Point, presented by Medical Mutual. There are also 30-, 75- and 100-mile route options available.

This year, there will be nearly 3,000 riders with a goal to raise $1.5 million.

A new part of Pedal to the Point this year is a special program called "I Ride With MS," sponsored by Genzyme. I Ride With MS sponsors all of the participants with MS, which is nearly 30. The group provides them with special jerseys and specialized medical treatments, including cooling wraps and cooling stations at all of the rest stops. Krejsa and Spelman will be in this group.

The ES for MS team has a goal to raise $10,000. At press time, they have raised $8,575.

Those wishing to make a donation to the Pedal to the Point event or to the National MS Society can visit www.bikems.org. Donations can be made to specific teams or individual riders.

Email: skruse@recordpub.com

Facebook: Sophie Kruse, Record Publishing Co.

Twitter: @kruseco

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